E-Prescribing and Electronic Health Records: Impact of Technology on Prescribing for Hypertension and Diabetes

Introduction:

In an effort to spur adoption of healthcare technology,
namely electronic prescribing and electronic health records, the federal
government began instituting financial incentives that encourage use of these
products. As a result, usage has surged over the past five years, according to
our survey of 70 PCPs, 70 endocrinologists, and 25 MCO pharmacy directors.
Physicians are now more acutely aware of MCOs’ formularies and are therefore
more likely to prescribe more favorably reimbursed drugs as well as better
identify undiagnosed patients, sharply impacting their prescribing decisions
for diabetes and hypertension therapies. By understanding the impact of these
healthcare technology trends on physician behavior, drug marketers can plan to
either withstand the headwinds emerging from this movement or take advantage of
dynamics that favor their therapies.

Questions Answered in This Report:

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Physicians and E-prescribing: What percentage of surveyed
physicians e-prescribe? For what percentage of their patients do they
e-prescribe and how will that change over the next 12 months? How does it vary
between their Medicare and non-Medicare patients? When did they adopt
e-prescribing and why? What has been the impact on their practice and their
prescribing? What challenges did they face and how did they overcome them? What
percentage of physicians has earned bonuses from Medicare for e-prescribing?
What was the amount? How often are they changing their choice of drug within a
specific class simply because it has a lower cost? What specific diabetes and
hypertension brands and generics are they prescribing more or less of because
of e-prescribing’s access to formulary information? How can the pharmaceutical
industry partner with them on this technology?

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MCOs and e-prescribing: What percentage of the
prescriptions written for MCOs’ beneficiaries is via e-prescribing? How will
that change in the next year? Have MCOs incentivized the use of e-prescribing?
What challenges have they faced in e-prescribing? How did they overcome them?
What specific diabetes and hypertension brands and generics are physicians
prescribing more or less of because of e-prescribing’s access to formulary
information? How does this compare with how they reimburse for these therapies
on their formularies and what lesson does this offer drug marketers about
tiering? How can the pharmaceutical industry partner with them on this
technology?

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Physicians and Electronic Health Records: How prevalent is
electronic health record use and how much will it grow in the next year? For
what percentage of their patients do physicians expect to use an EHR in one
year’s time? How does it vary between Medicare and non-Medicare patients? When
did they adopt EHRs and why? What has been the impact on their practice and
their prescribing? What challenges did they face and how did they overcome
them? What percentage of physicians has earned bonuses from Medicare and
Medicaid for using EHRs? What was the amount? What specific diabetes and
hypertension brands and generics are they prescribing more or less of because
of e-their EHRs? Are they using this technology to measure specific therapies?
If so, what has been the impact and how can drug marketers take advantage of
this growing trend to boost prescribing of their brands? How can the
pharmaceutical industry partner with them on this technology?

*
MCOs and EHRs: What percentage of MCOs’ beneficiaries is
served by physicians using EHRs? How will that change in the next year? Have
MCOs incentivized the use of EHRs? What specific diabetes and hypertension
brands and generics are physicians prescribing more or less of because of EHRs?
How does this compare with their formulary drugs? How does the percentage of
patients who reach LDL and HbA1c goals differ for physicians served by an EHR
versus non-EHR? How can the pharmaceutical industry partner with them on this
technology?

Scope:

This U.S. Physician and Payer Forum explores how the
adoption of e-prescribing and electronic health records is affecting the
prescribing of diabetes and hypertension drugs by endocrinologists and PCPs,
highlighting the role of market access for drugs treating these indications.
This report will survey 70 endocrinologists and 70 PCPs as well as 25 MCO PDs,
and will examine the impact on currently marketed brands Merck’s Januvia and
Cozaar; AstraZeneca’s Onglyza and Atacand; Boehringer Ingelheim’s Tradjenta and
Micardis; Novartis’ Diovan and Tekturna; Daiichi’s Benicar; BMS/Sanofi’s
Avapro; Takeda’s Edarbi; and Forest’s Bystolic.